Needham Investment Management LLC Buys 4,500 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Needham Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC owned 0.19% of MKS Instruments worth $13,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in MKS Instruments by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,445,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $777,283,000 after purchasing an additional 97,392 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,088,283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $322,386,000 after acquiring an additional 35,256 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,291,478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $239,207,000 after acquiring an additional 6,715 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,231,467 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $232,943,000 after acquiring an additional 6,964 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 108.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,019,134 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $110,789,000 after purchasing an additional 530,620 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MKSI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MKS Instruments has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $135.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $836,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at $6,273,577.01. This represents a 11.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total transaction of $25,426.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,607,324.64. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $90.66. 655,747 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,053,582. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $76.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.95. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 year high of $147.40. The stock has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.80.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The business had revenue of $936.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $913.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. MKS Instruments's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

About MKS Instruments

MKS Instruments, Inc provides foundational technology solutions to semiconductor manufacturing, electronics and packaging, and specialty industrial applications in the United States, Germany, China, South Korea, and internationally. It operates through Vacuum Solutions Division (VSD), Photonics Solutions Division (PSD), and Material Solutions Division (MSD) segments.